Water Dispersed Conducting Polyaniline Nanofibers for High-Capacity Rechargeable Lithium–Oxygen Battery

Water dispersed conducting polyaniline nanofibers doped with phosphate ester have been synthesized and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), wide-angled X-ray diffraction (WAXD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-visible spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Next, a systematic and careful electrochemical test was carried out to deeply investigate their potential application for lithium-oxygen battery. The experimental result showed us that this low cost and easily produced material could catalyze the discharge reaction independently, and after an initial degradation from 3260 to 2320 mAh/g PANI during the first three cycles at current density of 0.05 mA/cm2, its discharge capacity kept relatively stable in the next 27 cycles with only a 4% loss, which may provide a new choice for fabrication of high-capacity rechargeable lithium-oxygen battery for practical application.